The Sabo-Sabo Fruit
by Random Wingithingy
Summary: A story inspired by A Cup O' Joe's "Adventures With A Brother Long Gone". "SABO! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!" "...ah, don't do tha- *crash* I'm a ghost, Ace, you idiot. As in, I'm IMMATERIAL. And I've been...lost." NO ROMANCE WHATSOEVER.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Heya peeps! This is my first attempt at a fanfic meant for others to read (meaning not just me inserting OCs trying to change the plot the way I want it to) so this is inevitably going to need some tweaking. Please feel free to comment!

Oh and this story was inspired by A Cup O' Joe's "Adventures With A Brother Long Gone".

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 **Prologue: I'm Pretty Sure I'm Dead**

Sabo looked around himself, confused. The last thing he remembered was **BOOM!** _FireHOTHOTHOT_ and PAIN _owmyhead_ mylungs **GLUB** and then darkness. Thinking back, he was pretty sure he'd died, either by being blown up, burning to death, or drowning (maybe all three at once?), so why was he still here? And where exactly was here? Then he looked down and _shrieked_ because his own dead face was staring up at him. Once he'd calmed his racing heart (did he even have a heart if he was dead?) somewhat, he backed away to sit down and think (and also avoid staring back at his dead face, because that was _creepy_ ). Except the rock he was going to sit against decided that he wasn't _real_ (was he though?) and he fell right through it, leaving him staring at his lower body which disappeared into the rock. Well, looks like he's a ghost. Yippee.

Sabo wasn't sure _what_ to think of the situation he was in. He was a ghost (a _freaking ghost_ ) with his very dead body not quite two yards away on the beach he'd apparently washed up at. He'd wandered around for a bit, but hadn't dared to venture too far lest he get lost. His corpse was creepy, but at least it was something he _knew_ (he'd lived in that body for _ten years_ before he died...). He thought he'd seen smoke rising from somewhere on the heavily forested island, but he'd lost track of it quickly.

The ship he'd set sail on was now a mere cluster of charred driftwood, floating in the water nearby. He glanced forlornly at his hat, which was rather ripped up and lay by his corpse. It was _his_ hat, dammit, and he felt weird without it (the setting sun was shining rather annoyingly into his eyes).

Then, suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew across the beach and Sabo closed his eyes reflexively as sand flew (none of the sand could touch him anyway, but he did feel a queer tingling feeling as the wind passed _through_ him). When he opened them again, he saw the cloaked man from the city standing over his body, an unreadable expression on his tattooed face (where had he seen that face before...?). The man knelt, touching his corpse's neck as though he were checking for a pulse, then leaned back and removed his hand with a sigh. "So he's dead, huh," the man murmured, bowing his head solemnly. "And that boy had so much potential, too..." He gazed down at Sabo's corpse for a while, then carefully picked it up, covering the face with Sabo's hat. Sabo stared at him for a moment, wondering what he was going to do, then scrambled to his feet as the man headed into the forest.

The cloaked man moved quickly, but having lived in a forest for much of his life (with Ace and Luffy - he tried not to think too much about them lest he miss them too much), Sabo kept up easily - especially since his body (spirit?) didn't seem to get tired much. By the time they emerged at the edge of a town, the sun had set and night had fallen. There weren't many people around (something he was _glad_ for), and he soon found himself on the deck of a large ship moored near the docks. He found himself marveling at the sheer number of _cloaks_ around him, and felt a little embarrassed by the amount of attention his corpse was receiving. Then, before he knew it, the ship was moving and he was sailing away to who knows where with these cloaked strangers...

Well, this was going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Okay, sorry about the really long delay. I'll try to minimize that in the future, but high school life and stuff kind of drove this out of my mind for a bit, and I totally forgot about this until like last week. Hope you enjoy!

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 **Chapter 2: Setting Sail**

Ace nodded to himself as he finished checking his provisions, then turned to watch the familiar wharf of Foosha Village fade into the distance behind him. He was going to miss Luffy like crazy (not that he'd ever admit it aloud), but a promise was a promise. Besides, he thought as a huge grin spread across his face, he was so pumped for this adventure, there was no way in _hell_ he was going to turn back now. After Foosha finally vanished over the horizon, he checked again to make sure he was headed in the right direction (and _not_ about to get lost in the middle of the ocean for a week - his food was definitely not going to last that long), then settled comfortably against the mast of his ship to watch the clouds float by (because seriously - what else was was he to do during the long hours that were to follow? It's not like he brought any books to read - he didn't like reading that much anyway). As his body relaxed in the warm sun, he allowed his mind to drift.

He jerked awake, feeling slightly disoriented. When had he fallen asleep? Ah, right. His narcolepsy kicked in, didn't it. Letting out a yawn, he stood and stretched, feeling his joints pop, before checking his direction again. He'd gone slightly off course when the wind shifted sometime during his nap, but it wasn't a lot and he quickly corrected it. Looking out over the water that was on all sides of him, he wondered what had woken him. His naps were usually longer... "Wow, you actually learned how to use a compass?" Ace jumped at the voice behind him and quickly spun to face whoever it was, dagger in hand. "Who the hell are you?!" The newcomer blinked at him. "...You don't recognize me?" Ace narrowed his eyes as he quickly took in his appearance. His eyes were immediately drawn to the person's hat, and the familiar pair of goggles that sat on the rim. Then, the person's blond hair. The pipe on his back, the coat in that shade of blue, and... "That napkin around your neck..." Ace muttered, veins bulging on his forehead as his anger boiled over. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, TRYING TO PASS OFF AS MY **BROTHER?!** " he yelled as he lunged forward, intent on putting his dagger through the offender's heart. The blond's eyes widened. "W-wait! Ace! It's-" He broke off to dodge a swipe aimed at his throat. "Calm down-" He was interrupted again, by a slash at his eyes. "DAMMIT ACE **LISTEN TO ME**!" Ace, surprised by the volume of the shout, tripped over his bag and went sprawling, his momentum carrying him straight over the low edge of his tiny boat and into the ocean with a splash. He surfaced, coughing and spluttering, and was about to climb back into the boat when he saw that the blond man had taken off his hat. He gritted his eyes against the familiarity he could feel coming off the blond in waves.

At his silence, the blond man sighed. "It's me, Ace. Sabo." Seeing the blatant distrust and disbelief in Ace's eyes, he quickly searched his memory for something that would convince him. He landed on one of his most cherished memories, and his mouth curled upward wistfully. "We swore brotherhood with Luffy in the forest with sake that you stole from Dandan, remember?" Then his eyes became serious. "I would never lie to you about this, Ace. It's...it was the best thing that happened to me." Several different emotions flashed through Ace's eyes, too quick for him to identify - the distrust was still there but fading slowly. Then Sabo twitched as his brain suddenly and randomly reminded him of Ace's words from just a few minutes ago. "And it's a _cravat_ , dammit! Not a napkin! Why the hell is _that_ what you notice about me first?!"


End file.
